


Road to Nowhere

by spookychrstmas



Category: South Park
Genre: Groundhog Day, M/M, Other, Psychological Thriller, Schizophrenia, Schizophrenic Kyle, Thriller, Twilight Zone - Freeform, but feel free to assume either version of the sbfs, it really only hints at the fact that they've got feelings for each other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-07
Updated: 2019-03-07
Packaged: 2019-11-13 05:37:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18025730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spookychrstmas/pseuds/spookychrstmas
Summary: "No cars, no.......rest stops or traffic signs, nothing. Just....just nothing, Stan. That doesn't make sense."Or: in which Stan and Kyle find themselves in a Twilight Zone/Groundhog Day-esque thriller.





	1. 12:12 to 6:33

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Hailey... who doesn't have an AO3 account so don't click on this](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Hailey...+who+doesn%27t+have+an+AO3+account+so+don%27t+click+on+this).



> This story is written in RP format! Kyle is written by my friend Hailey, and Stan is written by me! There's some POV changes as it goes between replies, but hopefully it isn't too annoying for you as you read it.
> 
> I'm not sure how many chapters this will have yet -- we actually finished this RP in October of last year (2018), but I just have to figure out how to cut it up without it being awkward, so bear with me.
> 
> Enjoy!

It was a weird sensation. Stan had picked him up from the mental facility in Albuquerque. They must have had a reunion, but it was all kind of........muddled in his head. He just assumed it had happened. He was laughing about something with Stan when he noticed some roadkill, three black ravens, dead on the side of the road. This wouldn't be out of the ordinary except he was positive they had passed it already. His expression shifted, falling as every sensation seemed to slowly creep away from him as he looked out the window.

Their reunion, or lack thereof, had been expected. At least, to Stan. Seeing Kyle again made him very reminiscent of their past, and he really should have known it would. After how long it's been since he's seen Kyle... Admittedly, he'd missed him. Why wouldn't he? They had been best friends. His brain automatically labelled Kyle Broflovski as 'super best friend', he couldn't help it.

He kept an eye on how he was acting during the drive, trying to decipher if anything was wrong. So, of course, Stan noticed the shift in his expression, and where his eyes were. He couldn't exactly look where Kyle was for so long, due to driving, but he still asked, "You alright, dude?"

"I don't-," he paused, "I don't know." He paused again, "Stan, can you pull over?"

Stan's eyebrows furrowed but he nodded. "Yeah. Of course." He pulled the car on the side of the road, as asked, then turned to Kyle again, "What's up?"

"Stan........how long have we been driving?," Kyle asked.

"About an hour... and a half now." He told him, "Why? Something wrong?" Stan checked the time on the car radio, just in case he was wrong. "Maybe a little more than that."

"And.....in all that time, did you notice there haven't been any other cars?," Kyle asked quietly. One part of him felt crazy asking, but it was true. That was weird, right?

No, he hadn't. Stan shrugged though, and said, "We're kind of in the middle of nowhere, dude. Do you really think there'd be many cars out here?"

Kyle shook his head, "No cars, no.......rest stops or traffic signs, nothing. Just....just nothing, Stan. That doesn't make sense." He was spiraling just a little bit. Part of him was hoping Stan wouldn't just turn right back around and take Kyle back. But he had to tell Stan because it was weird. Wasn't it? ....... wasn't it?

"The drive is six hours, there's bound to be long stretches where we don't see anything," Stan tried to explain gently. He didn't want to accidentally freak Kyle out or anything. He hesitantly reached out to put a hand on Kyle's shoulder, in an attempt to comfort him. "It's okay, Kyle."

"I know what I'm talking about, Stan!," he snapped before going silent. He knew exactly what that must have looked like. He opted to look out the window, "When I was back at the clinic.... I'd go look out at the desert. It always felt like I was on this....island in the middle of an ocean. And that if I left the island...." He finally looked back at Stan, "I'd be....lost."

At his outburst, Stan's eyes widened and he drew his hand back. He moved to sit back in his seat again, and quietly said, "Maybe.. I should take you back..." He didn't want to, God knows he wanted anything but that. He wanted for Kyle to be able to go home. He deserved that after all this time... but if he wasn't ready...

"No!," Kyle let out, "Stan, I just- no. Never..........nevermind. It.....nevermind." He was silent for a few more seconds, "Can we just........keep going?"

Stan paused and couldn't stop himself from asking, "Are you sure you're okay...?"

"It's just........a....weird change of environment," Kyle said, "I've....been there for so long. It's just going to take some...getting used to. I don't....need to go back. Don't....don't take me back."

"I don't want to, dude. I promise." His super best friend told him, trying to be reassuring. "I... I missed you." Stan glanced back at him when he said that.

Kyle let out a huff of air, "I missed you too, Stan. So much. I can't even tell you what it was like to not be in contact with you. It made everything so much more difficult."

"It was hard back at home too," Stan let out, "Probably worse for you but.. you know. It sucked not being able to see you everyday. Or even be able to talk to you." He was silent for a little, then he said, "I would've reached out if I could. My mom would tell me that we couldn't because you needed to adjust. I don't know if that's what she thought or what she heard from your parents, though.."

"My family visited me for holidays," Kyle said, "The first year. Then just Hanukkah and Rosh Hashanah.......and then.... they stopped. I think it was hard for my mom." He looked at the clock. It didn't seem like any time had gone by, but he opted not to say anything about it. 

"We should stop," he said, "The next place we come across."

"The first year.. sucked the worst, honestly. On the weekends, I would sometimes forget you were gone and think: 'what are Kyle and I going to do today?' and then..." Stan trailed off a little, looking back at the steering wheel. "Then I'd remember that we wouldn't be doing anything that day, because you were in Albuquerque." 

He was silent for a little as he tapped on the wheel, just thinking for a moment. He looked back up at Kyle after awhile and said, "Yeah. Okay. We'll probably take a break tonight, stay in a motel or something. It's getting late."

Kyle looked at the clock which had suddenly changed from 12:12 to 6:33 in what seemed like a fraction of a second. Once again, he neglected to mention this to Stan. He paused, "Do you have my meds?"

Stan nodded. "Yeah." He opened the center console and removed the little pill bottle from it. "How many do you usually take?" Stan asked.

"Two," Kyle told him, "Uh- I get.....kind of....weird after taking them." A warning that wasn't quite a warning. He felt like Stan already thought Kyle was acting weird.

"It's okay. Promise." Stan responded. He opened the little container and removed two from it, handing them to Kyle. "Want water? I brought some since.. the drive was gonna be so long."

Kyle nodded, "Yeah.....yeah please."

"Think you can reach into the backseat and grab one? There's like, half a pack of them on the floor." Stan said, gesturing to the back. "After you take it, I can start driving again."

Kyle nodded and grabbed a bottle of water before taking the medicine and nodding, "Okay. Okay, I'm ready." Kyle blinked a little, the effects of the medicine tending to hit hard and near immediate. He settled back against the passenger seat. 

It wasn't until twelve minutes past midnight that they passed large blue country style home with a rickety sign that read 24 Hour Bed and Breakfast. Kyle had been quiet a good majority of the ride, responses slow and calm whenever Stan had tried to bring up conversation, but at least he wasn't freaking out about there being no more cars or traffic signs.

"Hey, look," Stan said, attempting to get Kyle's attention once more. "We can stay here for the night, dude. You want to?" Stan asked, wanting his input. He was pretty sure he wouldn't get a long answer, though.

He was.. definitely getting tired. All that driving really gets to someone. He already knew Kyle would most likely say yes, but he wasn't sure he'd be able to keep going if he did happen to say no.

It took Kyle a long moment to realize what Stan was talking about. He simply nodded, but something.....seemed off. He couldn't put his finger on exactly what, but one thing was certain, he didn't want to go back to the clinic. So once again, he neglected to tell Stan about his feeling. After all, it was the first place they had seen in hours and was liable to be the only place they'd see for hours to come.

"Alright, then. You can either wait in the car while I get us a room or go with me." Stan told him as he pulled into the parking lot. "Are you hungry?"

"Yeah," Kyle let out having not really thought about that until Stan asked him, "Yeah."

Kyle went ahead and started getting out of the car once it was parked. He paused and thought he would clarify, "I want to go with you."

Stan smiled a little. "C'mon, dude." He got out of the car and once both doors were closed, he pressed the lock button on his keys to turn the alarm on. He led the two of them to the front and opened the door for Kyle. "We'll be heading back home tomorrow sometime. Probably early in the afternoon. There's about three hours left in the drive. But I'm too exhausted to keep driving." He admitted. "I don't want to fall asleep at the wheel."

Kyle smiled a little, looking around the entryway of the mom and pop B&B thats large entryway had been converted to a lobby. Behind the counter, a frail person sat in a wheelchair facing the wall. A single olive wrinkled hand rested on the arm of the wheelchair. The only other visible feature was long straight white hair hanging down the back of the chair. A clock with a painted bluebird ticked loudly. It was the only other sound. Kyle gave Stan a look, but wasn't about to argue. He wasn't feeling.....great, but he also wasn't going to say anything if Stan didn't.

Stan... wasn't quite sure about this place once he saw the inside. It was... off. Stan glanced over at Kyle, "This place is... creepy.." He said, pretty quietly. He didn't want to get the attention of the person at the desk... at all, really. His gaze traveled the room, looking around at their surroundings. The place itself looked like whoever decorated it tried to make it look less creepy and... failed completely.

An attractive young woman, not much older than Stan or Kyle, with long dark hair wearing an overly formal black dress came down the stairs to greet the pair. She looked incredibly out of place, though even then. She had some....air about her. Like the juxtaposition of her and the decor somehow.....worked. She spoke with a slight accent, difficult to place, "Can I help you two?"

Oh. "Uh... yeah. Hi." Stan said, a little confused. "You work here? ..We need a room for the night."

"Yes....," she said eyeing Stan suspiciously and added pointedly, "This is mine and my husband's business."

She looked through a few papers in a cursory fashion, "You're in luck. We have one room left, but there's only one bed." She had said that despite the fact there were no other cars anywhere. It seemed the proprietors didn't even own one.

Stan didn't really like the way she was looking at him, so he glanced back at Kyle. "If it's okay with him, I don't care. You cool with sharing a bed, dude?" He found it odd that there didn't seem to be anyone else there but there was only one room left. But he wouldn't say anything about it until they were alone again.

Kyle had been distractedly staring at the hands of the clock. He turned back to Stan, "What? Oh- uh. Yeah. Sure."

The woman pulled a single silver key off an empty board, "Second door upstairs to the left. The bathroom is at the end of the hallway. Ice box is on the third floor. Don't go up to the fourth. Breakfast is served at 8am until 10am. Pay when you check out at 12:12pm. I'd suggest you lock your door. Any questions?"

"Nope." Stan really just wanted to go upstairs and knock the fuck out. Yeah, the place was creepy, but he was dead tired. When the key was handed to him, he said, "Thanks, by the way."

The woman gave him a small smile and watched as the two made it to the room. It was pretty small, with no TV or phone. Just a bed, a small bedside table and a drawer with a couple old fashioned glass figures on it as well as old canvas landscape paintings on the walls. It was just like the rest of the place. Inexplicably eerie. 

"How are you doing, dude?," Kyle finally asked as the thought occurred to him as he sat down on the bed.

"Right now I'm fucking exhausted." He answered, rubbing at his eye as he sat down beside him on the bed. "In general, the last few years kinda sucked without you, if I'm being honest. I survived, though."

Stan paused a second and then said, "It just... wasn't the same without you, you know?"

Kyle turned to pull Stan into a tight hug. He couldn't remember what their actual renunion had been so....he felt the urge and acted on it. He held Stan for a long moment before pulling away, "What....uh.....did I miss?"

Stan hugged him back almost immediately, smiling just a bit.

And then he went on to explain, "I was pretty upset when you first left, I don't know if anyone ever told you. Probably not, though. Stuff with my parents blew up again, which isn't a surprise." He shrugged a little, indifferent to his slightly toxic household. "There wasn't really like.. big stuff with me, though. You being gone sucked, 'cause there was uh.. times that I needed someone. I ended up okay, though. So it's not a big deal. That's just life, I guess."

"Sorry I went all........psycho on you," Kyle apologized sincerely, "I should have.....held it together and been there for you."

He looked up at Kyle again before he said, "Psycho? Dude, you're not psycho, or insane, or crazy or any of that bullshit."

He laid back on the bed, sort of glaring up at the ceiling of the room, "'Crazy' is shooting someone who needs help; 'crazy' is people thinking that because they don't experience what someone else does, then their experience is the truth; 'crazy' is calling someone delusional without evidence, calling them liars without any facts and dismissing them out of hand without any proof that they're wrong."

"You know what's really crazy?" He asked, but didn't wait for an answer before he finished, "That people think they know what someone does or doesn't think or feel because of something they're diagnosed with."

Stan made eye contact with Kyle when he said, "And anyone who says that you're any of those things is an asshole and they're wrong. So don't apologize for that stuff. Ever. Alright?"

Kyle smiled as he laid down next to Stan, looking into his eyes for a few seconds, "How many times did you give that speech in my defense?"

Stan shrugged a little, looking back at him. "Only a few times.. I just... I care about you a lot, dude." He turned over on the bed to really face him. "You're like, my favorite person in the whole world. I wasn't gonna let anyone say that shit about you."

Kyle continued to smile, getting just a little closer to Stan, "My ever faithful knight, protecting my honor even in my absence."

The noiret laughed at that, rolling his eyes half-heartedly before choosing to play along by reaching for Kyle's right hand and bringing it up to his mouth to kiss it lightly as he said, "Always, my lord." He gave a dumb, almost dopey smile afterwards.

Kyle couldn't help but blush. He didn't pull away or stop making eye contact, "D-Dude." 

He knew that he had missed Stan, but he didn't really think he realized just how much until this moment, "I love you, dude. I missed you so much."

"I love you too, Kyle." He said with a smile. Stan hadn't really thought about his actions before he kissed Kyle's hand, but it was too late now. Really, he didn't regret it. It seemed fitting with the knight comment. "I missed you too, dude. I missed being able to do stupid stuff like this with you. The end of highschool was pretty rough without you around."

"Yeah....," Kyle thought for a second and then let out a sigh, "I need to get a GED. That's the first thing I need to do when I get back.... What college are you going to? ....... You.... Are going to college right?"

"Well..." He started, a little hesitant to answer. Stan had some pretty good opportunities before Kyle left so, he knew that Kyle would most likely be kind of disappointed that he didn't take them. "I did get some scholarships for football... but uh... I didn't... I didn't take them. At least, not to any of the bigger schools. Obviously, 'cause I'm here right now. I probably wouldn't be here if I had gone to UC Berkeley or somewhere else on the west coast."

Before Kyle could lecture him, he continued, "It's not like I just threw away every single opportunity I had, though. I'm going to school at the University of Denver. I'm on the team there, and I've got a job at a tattoo parlor over there, too."

Kyle closed the mouth he had opened to lecture Stan. He nodded, "I'm really happy for you, dude. I'm proud of you." He paused for a few seconds, "Tattoo parlor? Since when?"

Stan shrugged. "I needed money after a little while and they were hiring. Plus, I took art during senior year and I kinda liked it then. Apparently I wasn't that bad at it, because they'd asked for examples of sketches I've done before and they gave me the job."

He paused for a second as he thought about it, "I've been working there for... about two years now, I think. Maybe a little less than that."

Kyle smiled a little, "You'll have to show me some of your sketches tomorrow morning."

Stan nodded enthusiastically, grinning. "Yeah, sure, dude. They're all mostly in a sketchbook that's in my room... somewhere. I don't remember where I left it last, I'll have to find it."

He hesitated a moment before he asked, "What are you planning on doing? Besides getting your GED."

"I'll..... probably take some time off from school to readjust....intern for my dad and then go to law school and-...... eventually take over the firm?," he said, "It just.....seems like the easiest course of action....and right now easy sounds.... nice."

"Yeah, dude, take as much time as you need. If you ever need a break from anything, we can head out to Stark's Pond to just be alone. It was always calm when we did that in middle school." He said, smiling at Kyle. "Just let me know, okay?"

Kyle returned Stan's smile. There was one person who could always make him feel safe and calm. He nodded, "Yeah.......dude, I'm.....tired. And I'm sure you have to be too. Night, Stan."

"Alright," Stan let out, nodding. Everytime he blinked, he could feel the need to sleep but he'd wanted to at least try to stay up with Kyle. "I'll see you in the morning, dude." He said, "Night."


	2. 24 Hour Bed and Breakfast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's always been said that crows are a symbol of bad luck and death....

Was that.......Clarence Clearwater Revival? ......again? Stan's face came into better focus. Oh. Right. They were driving. Kyle looked at the clock 12:12pm. Right. Kyle saw as they passed by three dead crows on the side of the desert road and his expression dropped. Wait....that.....wasn't right......why wasn't that right?

"Kyle? You okay?" Stan asked and, for a split second, felt deja-vu but didn't quite know why. He'd never gone to the clinic Kyle was kept in before. He was looking over at Kyle, concern clear on his face. They had just been laughing and joking around and for some reason, Kyle suddenly didn’t look as happy. What happened?

"I don't-," Kyle started, "No. No." He shook his head, "Something....... something isn't right." He sounded crazy. Great. "Stan- I just.....how long have we been driving for?"

"An hour and a half, I think." He answered, looking back at the road. "It hasn't been very long. Why?"

And they went through the whole conversation a second time.....or....it felt like the first time. Sort of. No. No. It felt like the first time. It was the first time. Kyle took his medication, relaxing back into the passenger seat of the car in silence, only really answering Stan when asked and even then sometimes slowly or shortly. The ride was silent, Kyle's mind wandering to.... nowhere really. Suddenly Kyle learned forward when the car made a strange sound and lowered on one side, the sound of metal on gravel and smoke coming up from the engine.

"Shit." Stan let out, and started to pull the car over. Once the car is stopped, he says, "Hold on a second." Then he got out to go check what happened to the car.

He opens the hood of the car to look at it, and there's an acute feeling of dread in his chest when he realizes that not only is it a flat tire, but the engine has also overhearted. "Of course. Of fucking course." He said aloud, mostly to himself. “Fuck.”

Kyle opened the passenger door himself to go out and meet Stan, "What's wrong?"

"Flat tire... and the engine overheated." He answered, letting out a sigh. "I'm gonna have to call someone, I don't have an extra tire and... well, we can't exactly go anywhere if the engine is overheating."

"Who.....are you going to call?," Kyle asked, "Do you know anyone in New Mexico?" Judging by the lack of.....anything green. That's where they still were.

"Not anyone I know, dude. I've never even been in New Mexico... ever." Stan says, "Probably a tow truck company or something, if there's even service out here."

He gestures for Kyle to follow him to the back of the car. "I have coolant in the trunk, so that'll help some but that's all I got." He opens the trunk and removes the bottle of blue liquid from it, there's about half of it left inside.

"Do you have a boot at least?," Kyle asked, "For the tire?"

"Oh.. uh, yeah. It's in the backseat." Stan told him, nodding. He goes back to the front of the car to wait for the thing to cool down a little more on its own so he can touch it and put the coolant in it.

Kyle went to the back seat and was thankful to grab the yellow boot. He went back around to the side of the car and paused, "Uh.....you don't....also happen to have a jack, do you?"

"No," Stan runs his free hand through his hair, annoyed with himself. He should've brought his mom's car instead. He should've known that his old one wouldn't've made it all the way here and back. "God damn it." He says, quietly. He feels so stupid. Stan lets out a sigh, then apologizes, "I'm sorry you have to deal with this, dude."

"It's okay," Kyle says. When he goes back to check the time it's 6:33pm. That rings a bell for some reason, but he pushes it down. He shouldn't be having an episode.....he's too medicated right now. And yet.....maybe it wasn't something- he pushed it down. "We've....been driving for hours, Stan. If we start walking we're bound to find someone who can help us."

He nods a little. "I guess we can try. You can grab a water bottle from the backseat, just in case we need one." Stan moves to put the coolant back in the trunk, still feeling like this was his fault. "What time is it?"

"Six thirty three," Kyle called to Stan as he grabbed two water bottles. He hesitated before saying, "Hey.....Stan? I thought....the whole trip only took six hours?" He paused, "Unless- I might....be....hearing or thinking things that- nevermind."

"When we're on the highway, yeah. We're not. Also- I never told you it was only six hours, dude." Stan said, a little confused on how Kyle knew that.

"Uh.....I....," Kyle paused and shook his head, "Sorry. Nevermind. Forget I said anything."

Stan's eyebrows furrowed but he nodded and said, "We should start walking before it starts to get dark.... er." He left the hood of the car open to give it time to cool off, beckoning Kyle over to him, "You ready?"

"Yeah," Kyle said as they started walking. The heat became replaced with a nice cool desert air before turning very cold within what seemed like at least an hour of walking, "How are you holding up, Stan?"

"I've been okay. Nothing much has been going on. Home drama and the usual crap." He answers, shrugging. "Work's been kicking my ass lately. But I'm glad I could come to get you. I missed you."

Kyle smiled a little, "I meant your asthma......but.......good to hear. You're....working now? Where?"

"Oh, well, I'm okay, dude. No worries. I'll let you know if it changes, though." Then Stan nodded. "Yeah, I am. Uh.. At a tattoo parlor in Denver."

They walked and talked for a good couple more hours, taking breaks and drinking water along the way. Kyle was trying to keep on their conversation about what he had missed in sports when he couldn't help it any more, "Stan, we've been walking for at least an hour now."

"Dude, I don't know what to tell you. I can't do anything about how long we've been walking — or how long it'll take." Stan said, looking over at him.

Well that- yeah. That made sense. The next time Kyle checked his watch, only a few minutes after the conversation, it was 12:12am and sure enough a large blue house with a sign outside that read 24 Hour Bed and Breakfast sat in the distance. "There's....no way we've been walking for six hours."

"Six hours?" Stan asked, trying to peek over at Kyle's watch. "It didn't feel like six hours."

At the sight of the sign, he perks up a bit, pointing over at it. "Look, dude, maybe someone there can help us."

Kyle didn't quite respond or reciprocate Stan's excitement, looking at the other with an almost blank expression, "You don't find that odd?"

"A little. But maybe we just lost track of time or something." Stan felt like he should be worried about that, but he isn't. In fact, the time they spent walking is the last thing he's worried about. "I think I'm just kinda tired, dude. I wanna get the drive back over with."

"Stan," Kyle said putting his foot down as much as he could. He will felt tired and out of it. Fuck. The medication shouldn't be this strong after six hours. That was a little concerning. He didn't realize he paused for a good thirty seconds after saying that and quickly tried to recover, but..... "Y-Yeah.... Okay. Good point."

"C'mon. It shouldn't take much longer." He told him, gesturing for Kyle to continue following him.

Kyle wanted so badly to argue, but he just simply didn't have the energy it would take to do so. When they made it into the house, the moment was replayed yet again. Conversations varying differently, only slightly. The bluebird clock still ticked rhythmically, the woman still arrived in the same moment in the same fashion. Same warnings.

However, this time when Kyle spotted the three dead ravens on the side of the road, his reaction was much more vivacious. His expression immediately changed, face paling, "Stan. Stop the car."

"What? Why?" Stan asked, but still pulled the car over to the side of the road. "Are you okay?"

"No," Kyle said shaking his head, "No, no, Stan, something isn't right. Come on, you have to know that too, right? I'm not- I'm not crazy."

"I... don't know what you're talking about." He said, honestly. "What happened?-" Stan stopped, then said, "Dude, you're not crazy."

"I don't-," he paused for a long moment as he tried to recall exactly why he was having a panic attack, "I don't-.....I don't know." He looked back out at the road, "But I don't want to go this way. Let's turn around."

"Um. Alright then, we can take the other route to the highway.." He said, turning the key again to start the car and turn down another road. "You alright? Do you.. uh- need your meds?"

Kyle took a deep breath of relief at that, but shook his head at The mention of the meds, "No. No, I don't want to take them."

"Okay, dude. Just.. calm down, alright?" Stan said, paying attention to the road once more. "You're okay." He glanced over at him with a slight smile, trying to reassure him.

Kyle took a few breathes and then finally settled enough to give Stan a small smile in return that only lasted a few seconds, "And....you? You don't feel...... I don't know.... How are you?"

"I've been okay, I guess." He told him, trying not to look away from the road too much. "South Park's lonely without you around."

"That's not what I meant," Kyle started before pausing. He reached into the back seat to grab some water. "My head hurts."

"You mean right now? I'm fine. A little tired, but fine." Stan shrugged. "I might have asprin in the glove compartment, if you wanna check."

"I don't...want to take any medication," Kyle said, "I feel like I need to stay alert."

"Whatever you want, dude," Stan told him, continuing to drive. "How have you been..? I.. know I missed a lot."

"I-," Kyle started for some reason it was a lot harder to recall.....everything. "Do you draw now?"

"Uh... yeah. How'd you know?" Stan asked, a little confused. "I didn't tell you."

"I just .....had a feeling, that's weird isn't it? I don't know how I knew that, it just.......," Kyle trailed off, "And what about college? You're in college, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I am. University of Denver." Stan answered, "Maybe it's like the whole twin mind reading shit — but with best friends... or something."

"Is that......real?," Kyle asked despite himself. However, his attention was drawn dramatically when he noticed a car on the side of the road, but not just any car.... "Stan? Stan, pull over."

"I don't know-" He started, before he looked over at Kyle, "What?- Uh- okay." Stan said, quickly, pulling over to the side of the road. "What is it?"

"That's a car," Kyle said and then added, looking at the dusty vehicle, "That's my dad's car."

"What? Why would your dad's car be all the way out here?" He asked, almost incredulous. Stan turned to look towards the direction Kyle was, honestly confused.

Kyle got out of the car, starting to head towards it. He put his hand onto the hot metal and withdrew it. Fuck. Ow. Well, that sure as hell felt real, but even then he could never be one hundred percent sure. "So you see it too, right?"

Stan had followed him to the car, and winced a little himself when Kyle burnt his hand. "Yeah, dude," Stan said. "You okay?" He asked, gesturing to his hand.

Kyle looked down at it. It was red and yeah it hurt, but it wasn't blistering or anything so he nodded, "Yeah." 

He was quiet as he looked around it. The car was half buried in sand and looked like it had been hit. "How....long do you think this has been here? Where are they?"

"I... I don't know." Stan was sure they'd been in South Park when he left- right? Didn't... Kyle's mom ask him to come get Kyle...? He didn't remember anymore. Everything just seemed very muddled.

Kyle went silent for a few seconds, pacing in thought. He really started wracking his brain and trying separate 'real' from 'not real'. A little bit of an exercise he was trying. It took Kyle a good five minutes before coming to a decision, "We're going the wrong way."

"You know your way around here-?" Stan just asked, very confused now.

"No," Kyle said and then frowned, "No, I just feel like we're going the wrong way. Just- trust me, Stan." He was freaking out just a little and trying so hard to make sure he didn't only made him more liable to do so.

"Okay, okay, I trust you." Stan told him, nodding. "Which way do you think we should go then?" In all honesty, he just didn't want Kyle to freak out too much.

Kyle took a steady breath finally at that. He looked both ways down the road, finally pointing in the direction they had come from, "That way."

"We just came from there-" Stan started, then sighed a little in annoyance and said, "Okay, fine, come on. We need to get back to the car." He knew he’d have to learn to deal with this stuff better, but,,, really?

"Okay," Kyle said as he made his way back into Stan's car. He paused for just a second, "I'm-........ I'm not trying to make things difficult."

"I know you aren't." Stan said as he got back into the car. He put a reassuring hand on Kyle's shoulder, hoping to reinforce his words. "It's okay, dude."

Kyle let out a huff and then reached over to pull Stan into an awkward car hug that would need to be remedied at the earliest convenience, "I missed you."

Good thing he hadn't started driving yet, because getting into a car accident would've really sucked for both of them. Stan couldn't help but smile as he returned the hug. "I missed you too, Kyle."

Kyle held onto Stan for a good long while. Stan was grounding. That was something he had worked on learning in the clinic. How to ground yourself to reality. Stan was definitely that. More than anything or anyone else. He finally let go of Stan and offered him a genuine smile.


	3. Hallucinations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Don't go up to the fourth floor. Breakfast is served at 8am until 10am. Pay when you check out at 12:12pm. Lock your doors. Any questions?

On the way, unbeknownst to them, to the Bed and Breakfast, Kyle was actually engaged in conversation like the last three years hadn't even gone by. They were back to themselves. Just....two super best friends on a road trip. 12:12am. The Bed and Breakfast showed up as always. This time, Kyle's expression dropped because of it. "Dude, this place is creepy as fuck."

"Yeah. It looks like it could be haunted or something like that." Stan told him, looking over at the place. It gave him an odd vibe, almost like... deja vu? He wasn't sure.

"You wanna check it out?" He asked, glancing over at Kyle for a moment.

"Sure.....," Kyle said, getting out. It wasn't like they had much of a choice anyway. It was the only place for miles. After they crossed the threshold, Kyle looked over at Stan, "Sorry, what?"

"...I didn't say anything?" Stan said, looking back at him.

"Are you sure?," Kyle asked, "I thought I heard a voice." He paused for a second, "N-Nevermind."

"Dude, are you okay?" He asked back, a little concerned. Stan was hesitant to say anything but... it seemed important now. "...Do you need your meds?"

"No," Kyle said adamantly. He wanted to be present. He felt like he needed to be. "I'm. Fine, Stan. Just ......tired. It's late."

Once again, the decor was the same and mixed in with the eerie silence of their voices and heartbeats was the incessant ticking of the bluebird clock.

"...Okay. Just... let me know, okay?" The room was odd to him, too. It was empty and silent and he didn't really like it. Almost like a ghost town but... a ghost building?

"Dude, you were right, this place is super creepy." He whispered to Kyle, just in case anyone was around.

Kyle nodded, subconsciously getting a little closer to his super best friend and interlacing his fingers with Stan's. He just felt.....safe with Stan. He kept looking ahead of himself. He didn't want to make things awkward. 

The same woman from before made her way down the steps as per usual in her black cocktail dress that was way to formal to belong to a typical employee of a mom and pop shop. She looked like she could be an old fashioned movie star. 

She made her way behind the counter beside the man in the wheelchair, his breath now audible. It was heavy and ragged like he was barely holding on. "Can I help you two?"

Stan gave his hand a squeeze, trying to be as reassuring as possible. 

When the woman came downstairs, and went behind the counter, he raised an eyebrow but approached a little. He still held onto Kyle's hand. "Uh.. yeah.." Stan glanced over at Kyle once more before he said, "We need a place to stay for the night.. Do you have any rooms available?"

The woman looked through the papers in a cursory manner once again, "You're in luck. We have one room left, but there's only one bed."

Kyle interjected before Stan could, "I'm sorry, you only have one room left? There's no other cars here except for ours."

The woman looked over, giving Kyle a cold glance before looking back to Stan, "Do you want the room or not?"

Stan found the fact that they only had one room left a little strange too... but they did need a place to stay. "Yes, we want the room." He looked over at Kyle, hoping he would just go along with it. This was probably the only place to stay for miles.

"Stan, are you sure about this? We could just-," he started but stopped when he heard whispered, muddled voices in his ears. Nothing too distinct, so he pushed it away. Fake. They were fake. But he had lost his train of thought with the effort to ignore them.

"I need to turn the vacancy sign," the woman said with a frown. There was no vacancy sign. "So decide quickly."

"Dude, there's probably no where else for miles. Where else can we go?" He asked, turning his head to look at Kyle when he spoke.

Kyle hesitated a second, "......yes. We want the room." It absolutely wasn't easy to say. 

The woman picked up a key from the otherwise empty backboard, "Second door upstairs to the left. The bathroom is at the end of the hallway. Ice box is on the third floor. Don't go up to the fourth. Breakfast is served at-" 

"What's on the fourth floor?," Kyle asked.

"Doesn't matter. All you need to know is not to go there," she said before continuing, "Breakfast is served at 8am until 10am. Pay when you check out at 12:12pm. I'd suggest you lock your door. Any questions?"

"Yes," Kyle pressed, "What's on the fourth floor and why should we lock our door?" The voices around him were growing steadily louder, certain words or phrases breaking in every now and again. He could've sworn Stan had said something, but maybe he was just hearing things again.

"Kyle, dude, just give it up. Please." Stan really didn't want for them to get kicked out and then have to sleep in the car or something. He sincerely looked like he was pleading with Kyle, but it was really only in his eyes. He just hoped they wouldn't throw them out.

Kyle shook his head and put it down in his hand. The voices were starting to be overwhelming. The woman turned to Stan who seemed to be the one to do business with, "Will you remove him from the lobby? I don't want him disturbing the other guests."

There are no other guests, Stan wanted to say, but he held his tongue and instead said. "Um. Yeah. I'm really sorry. I'll just.. take him upstairs..?" He wasn't sure they were even going to be able to stay in the room, the woman seemed very standoffish with them. Fuck.

"That's what I said," she said, "Second door to the left." She was eyeing them very suspiciously. They didn't look like they should've been here. And yet it was also long overdue. 

Kyle begrudgingly followed Stan up to their room, sitting down on the bed to hold his head. He clearly struggled through the next sentence. It was difficult to hear himself think. "So.....we are checking- this place out. ..... Right?"

"Yeah." Stan answered, then took a long pause before asking, "Are you okay?" 

Of course he could tell something was wrong, he just had no idea exactly what. He'd made sure to grab Kyle's meds from the car when they had gotten out to come inside, and was pretty sure he needed them but... he kept saying that he didn't want them.

"Just a.....bad headache," he lied. Well. Partially. He wasn't completely sure. The voices seemed to lower enough and he looked up at Stan, "Do you....uh....hear anything?"

Stan didn't believe that, not really, but he answered Kyle's question instead of calling him out, "No, dude, I don't hear anything besides you. Why?"

"It's just.....my......illness," Kyle admitted, "I guess." It wasn't easy to say. Even after three years of rehab. He stood up, "We're investigating, aren't we?"

"I wish I knew how to help you more, dude." He said, frowning a little before looking up again at the idea. "I... I don't know. Do you think we should?"

"You can't, Stan, but that's okay," Kyle said simply, ".....yeah. This place is sketchy as hell. I want to know what they're hiding."

"Well, okay.. I'm in." He said, standing up as well. "So, what's the plan? We just going up there or..?"

Kyle nodded, "Yeah." He got to his feet and started out the door. When they were halfway to the staircase, Kyle turned around quickly, "What was that?"

"What was what?" Stan asked back, eyebrows furrowing.

"There was a shadow," he said starting to walk, seeming to follow something that wasn't there. He stopped about halfway back to their room at a door, looking it up and down before kneeling to look through the keyhole. He was silent for a second before letting out a scream and covering his ears, jumping back from the door.

Stan rushed up to him when he screamed, grabbing one of his arms. 

"Dude! What the hell?-" He started, before immediately opting to pull Kyle into a hug instead. Stan didn't know exactly what had made him scream, but he knew Kyle was scared, and so, this was obviously a knee-jerk reaction for him.

"I-I saw something, Stan, I swear, I fucking saw someone staring at me," He let out, quickly accepting the hug and holding tight onto Stan.

Stan paused a second, not sure if this was some type of hallucination or actually for real. "Do you want me to look?" He asked, deciding to go along with it. Who knows? Maybe it was real.

Kyle nodded, he needed Stan to know he wasn't crazy. He wasn't crazy. He- ..........okay he was a little mentally ill........pretty .....severally mentally ill......... He still needed Stan's affirmation.

"Alright, dude. Just- don't scream again." He said, beginning to pull away, "We don't wanna get caught snooping." 

Stan approached the door Kyle had been in front of, kneeling down just as he had to look through the keyhole… but the only thing through the keyhole were a couple pieces of furniture covered by white cloths. 

The voices in Kyle's head grew louder, "Well?" His voice sounded near desperate.

Yeah, so he'd been right. "Kyle, there's only sheet-covered furniture in this room," He told him as gently as possible. Stan didn't want to alarm him.

Kyle paused. He was going to believe Stan.....until he noticed a face begin to imprint itself onto the door, slowly forcing it's way through. Of course, none of this was visible to Stan. Kyle shook his head, pointing at the door, "There's something in there, Stan. Something that wants out."

Maybe humoring Kyle's hallucinations was a bad idea, but it was the only one Stan really had, "Well... is there anything you think we should do about it or..?"

"I just- I want it to go a-," He couldn't hear himself think with screaming ringing in his ear along with the slight images. A wave of confusion was washing over him. He suddenly didn't realize where he was or how he had gotten there. Correction. He realized how unrealistic all of this was. He was beginning to breathe quickly and heavily, shaking his head. He was having a panic attack.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit," Okay, that was where he drew the line. Stan removed Kyle's pills from his pocket, before walking up to him. "Dude, hey, look at me. C'mere. It's okay. Think you can breathe with me a little?" He said, as calmly as possible.

Kyle covered his eyes with his hand, trying to go over all the exercises he had learned in his three years of rehabilitation, but it seemed useless. "Stan? Are you actually here?"

"Yeah, Kyle, I'm actually here," Stan told him, soothingly, "Come here, dude. Please? You're okay. I promise you're okay."

It took Kyle a few seconds before he stood up and made his way over to Stan, immediately pulling Stan into a hug, "Maybe.....maybe I need the medication...."

Stan held him close and then after awhile, pulled away a bit. "Alright. Do you want to go back to the room? It's getting kind of late, anyways." He opened the bottle of meds, removing two without even asking. He just.. had a feeling that was what Kyle took.

Kyle nodded, "Yeah. Yeah..." After Kyle took the pills, he fell into a more sedated state. Since he took them during an episode, the voices remained, but faded into weird background noise, like as if someone was playing a TV show in another room. He was also too out of it to be alarmed.


	4. Seemingly Endless

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's a little shorter, but only because we're getting close to the end! The next one is longer, promise! (And I believe it'll be the final chapter!)

"Stan?"

"Yeah, dude?" Stan asked, glancing over at him. For some odd reason, he'd kind of expected for Kyle to be out of it, but he wasn't sure why he had thought that. However, he'd turned out being right.

"Stan?," Kyle asked again as if he hadn't heard him, this time, eyebrows furrowed in both concern and confusion.

He paused, then said, "Uh... Yeah...?"

"Stan?," Kyle asked, suddenly in the driver's seat. 12:12pm. "Dude? Are you okay?"

Stan had fallen silent, staring out the window. Something about this whole thing felt wrong, but he couldn't place exactly what. He'd been told that his feelings of impending doom were most definitely "not normal", so he didn't mention it to Kyle. 

"I.. I don't know." He answered honestly. It all just felt... weird to him. Like something was wrong. Or.. that he had forgotten something.

"When did you last take your meds?," Kyle asked. It was weird....seeing your long time best friend so......out of it.

It took him a second to answer, taking a long pause. "um.." then Stan shook his head, "I don't remember." And he didn't. He could barely remember anything before Kyle had picked him up. That was odd, wasn't it?

Kyle bit his bottom lip. Well...Stan seemed out of it enough, it must've been recent, "Um..........I'm at U of D now." It was another attempt to start up conversation. He had been trying before .....but........huh.

He turned to look at Kyle finally, "Yeah?" Stan seemed to go in and out of spacing out pretty frequently which... made keeping conversations up kind of hard.

Kyle couldn't help but smile when he got that response, responding in turn excitedly, "Yeah! Psychology. Maybe....criminal psychology. But for now just psychology." He didn't mention Stan had had a huge influence in the career path decision. ...minus the criminal part. That was just a personal interest.

He really couldn't seem to place why but all of this just felt weird. Like this wasn't the way it was supposed to be. Or.. at least.. it had been different once. Which, he guessed it had been, just not in the same way. Stan nodded just a little, showing he was still listening. "When did.. when did that happen?" He asked, feeling like he missed basically everything. It'd only been three years but.. a lot can happen in three years. "...What else did I miss?"

"Uh........two years ago," Kyle said, trying to keep his tone upbeat and positive, "Cartman isn't in school, uh, well, he's training to be a mechanic. And Kenny is just working part time so.....I'm the only one in college. It's.....kind of lonely."

"Oh..." Stan suddenly felt bad. He had plans to go to college before shit hit the fan. As a kid, he'd always fantasized of having Kyle going with him to the same school or something. Obviously, that's not what happened. 

There was a sudden pit in his stomach, feeling extremely guilty for not being there. "Sorry for, um- going crazy and, y'know, having to leave." That hadn't been his plan. He had opportunities before all this happened, but they were long gone now.

"Oh.....dude, no, no, I didn't- no," Kyle said, "This isn't your fault, dude. I'm sorry I didn't visit you...." He couldn't say why he hadn't.

"..." Stan said nothing at first, taking a slight pause before he spoke, "My parents only visited me once or twice the first year. I don't even remember it much. They... didn't even come for like.. Thanksgiving or Christmas or anything." He sounded almost dejected, "Other people in there always had family visiting them. I felt so out of place when visiting days were going on." 

Stan wrapped his arms around himself to try and keep himself grounded. It was sad to admit that he had to do this often when he was in the clinic. "The last time they visited, my mom told me, ''it's not the end of the world''. That kinda stuck out to me, I guess. It made me feel even more alone. I didn't believe her either... because it felt like it was."

"Fuck your parents," Kyle said with a frown, focusing on the road, "Seriously, what the hell is wrong with them?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I thought my mom would at least try to, but she didn't. Not after that last time." 

Stan fell silent for a little while, before he finally just said, "It sucked." It was blunt, yes, but it was true.

"The last time?," Kyle asked curiously, "Did something else happen?"

"Nothing really. They just- told me they wouldn't be coming to see me anymore." Stan left out his subsequent breakdown, and the clinic's quiet room. He hated that room. They put people that were becoming upset in there. It was a small, white padded room, designed to calm people down... but, from Stan's personal experience, it only made it worse.

"What fucking dicks," Kyle said quietly. …..Like he had any room to judge. A feeling of overwhelming guilt overtook him, "I-....um......Ike is. Older now." He felt like an idiot for that awkward change of topic, but that was the best he could come up with.

"Oh, cool. Highschool?" Stan asked, trying his best to keep conversation going without getting overwhelmed with it all.

"Yeah, yeah, it's crazy," Kyle said simply, "Are you uh....hungry? Thirsty?"

"A little, I guess. I don't remember eating today." Stan still found it weird that he couldn't remember anything about what had happened before Kyle picked him up.

"Well, I brought snacks for the drive. They're in the back seat if you want any." Kyle told him, gesturing back there with his head.

Stan nodded. "Okay. Thanks, dude."

They drove in moderate silence mixed with awkward conversation until they finally reached the bed and breakfast at 6:33pm. The interactions were mostly the same. Same woman. Same man in the corner. Same room. The only difference was Kyle did the talking. Suspicious, but not so much so that he was willing to leave Stan alone in the room to go off investigating.


	5. Angel of Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the second shock hit, everything finally came back to its correct place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the final chapter (and the final loop)! Hopefully everything that has been stuck in this story has stuck out to you. Enjoy!

This time at 12:12pm, Kyle's hands tightened on the wheel. He brought the car to a jarring halt in the middle of the road. Everything. Every loop. Every goddamn time. He remembered it this time.

The car stopping brought him out of the weird haze he had been in as everything came rushing back. What the fuck was going on? He sat up in his seat a little more, looking over at Kyle, "Dude, am I going crazy or is something weird going on here?" He asked, genuinely confused. Stan could remember it all now, but wasn't sure where exactly they were or why.

"Dude, no, no, okay thank god because I feel crazy," Kyle admitted, "........you feel like some weird..... Twilight Zone shit right?"

"Yeah. What the fuck is going on?" Stan was lost, completely unsure about their whole situation.

"I-I don't know," Kyle let out. His features hardened a little, "But I think I know who would."

"...Who?" He asked, then paused, realizing something, "Why are we even out in the desert anyways..?"

"Those people," Kyle said, "The ones who run that creepy Bed and Breakfast. They have to know something."

Kyle paused, "I think...........I think we came out here-" It was far back. Very very far back in all the loops. At one point, one of them had come up with a lie to excuse the voices....a lie about a clinic and somehow that lie had persisted and manifested. "-we were.....going on a road trip? I....I think."

"Oh..." That... sounded right, but Stan couldn't be too sure of anything really. "Okay. We should go there then. Maybe- maybe they remember too..?" It was a long shot, but the risk would be worth it. Probably.

However, when they got to the bed and breakfast at 12:12am, it was in a state of disarray. One side of the roof was caved in, the sign was broken and illegible. The paint was peeling off the side of the house. Kyle pulled onto the side of the road and got out of the car, "What......dude, what the fuck has been going on?"

"Woah..." Stan let out as he followed Kyle and exited the car. "...I have no idea... Should we check inside?"

Kyle paused, "What did they say? Don't check the fourth floor?" He looked pissed at something, but he wasn't exactly sure where to direct it at.

"I think so, yeah. You wanna go up there?" Stan seemed determined. This was super fucked, and he wanted to know what the hell was causing it.

"Yeah," Kyle said, "I wonder if there's a back entrance....or a fire escape or something." One the side of the building was a trellis covered in vines going up the side of the old house, however, it didn't exactly look sturdy.

Stan glanced around the building before he said, "Dude, look." He gestured to he trellis, walking over to it. "There's this. I guess one of us can go in and the other can hang out down here — in case they fall?"

Kyle didn't wait to discuss any of it before starting to climb. Kyle let out a short 'damnit' as he started up. The wood was full of splinters and the vines were musty and full of thorns. However, that didn't deter Kyle as he continued climbing towards the circular side window.

Stan hadn't expected him to just start climbing, "Dude. Be careful." He let out, but didn't tell him to come down or anything like that. "Let me know if you find anything. I guess try and find another entrance, too."

Kyle climbed as carefully as he could, but....about twelve feet up, one rung of the trellis snapped beneath his foot, sending him hurtling to the ground.

When he noticed Kyle slip, he almost immediately attempted to catch him. Thank God for football now, huh? Kyle was definitely heavier than a football but he was able to catch him just fine.

"Fuck!," Kyle let out. Stan certainly....softened the landing, but......"Shit! Dude, are you okay?"

Stan inhaled sharply when Kyle landed in his arms. Okay, that was... probably not the best idea, but at least Kyle didn't hit the floor. It was kind of like a medicine ball being thrown at him. And he was definitely going to feel that tomorrow. "Y... Yeah. I think so. Are you?"

Kyle couldn't help staring into Stan's eyes for a long ass moment. Just because. Woah. He let out a short breath of air and carefully let himself down, "I uh.......didn't know you were fucking Superman- uh- I mean. Yeah. Yeeesss." He realized this might be coming out like he was lying, very smoothly cleared his throat and let out a simple more grounded; "Yes."

"Superman?" He asked, a slight smile on his face, "I don't know about that, dude." Stan stretched his arms just a little, "I mean- I don't think Superman really felt sore, like ever? I probably will tomorrow. You're not exactly a feather, Kyle." Then he looked back at the trellis. "Maybe we should find another way in? If I hadn't have caught you, you probably would've broken a bone or something. There's obviously not a hospital- let alone anything else around here for miles."

"Yeah....," Kyle let out. He made his way around the building. Only way in seemed to be the front door. Kyle paused in front of it, an eerie feeling filling his entire being, "Alright. We go in there. And we confront them. We don't leave until they give us some god damn answers."

"Yeah." Stan let a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, before repeating himself, "Yeah.... I'm ready. Let's go."

Kyle stormed in, ready to kick ass and take names, but when they entered the woman was gone. Kyle walked up to the desk. Okay, so what? The woman was gone, but the guy in the wheelchair- ......the wheelchair was there. The man? Missing. Everything was covered in dust and cobwebs. The floorboards were rotting. The air stank of must and mold. Kyle looked around for a moment. The fourth floor. He started leading the way up the stairs.

Oh, great. This room would be amazing for his asthma. Stan, however, continued to follow Kyle, sort of like a lost puppy, honestly. He would rather follow him than be down there alone. He remembered it being creepy in past loops— but this was ten times worse. "...Where do you think they are?" He asked, looking around.

"I....don't know. I honestly don't really care," Kyle said. He remembered something about the fourth floor now. Something, he just couldn't remember. He remembered in past loops....always getting stopped. They'd get so close and never reach it. There was always something in their way. This time they'd have to kill Kyle before he'd turn back. His determination was set and when that happened neither hell nor high water could bring him down. Second floor. "You doing alright?"

"Yeah. I'm okay." Stan nodded. It sucked to breathe in this place, but he'd be fine. It wasn't too bad. "This place is fucking creepy though."

"Yeah," Kyle said, glancing over at a large mirror full of children's fingerprints. There had never been children. Never. Not in a single loop. He continued climbing the stairs. Third floor. Kyle blinked hard, a sudden wave of something hit him. He felt nauseous and his nose began to bleed.

Stan felt it too. He, however, was more used to dealing with nausea so it didn't affect him much. "Dude, your nose is bleeding." He pointed out, a little concerned. Stan didn't stop him though, if they were going to stop it'd be on Kyle's call.

"Ugh," Kyle let out as he wiped the blood away from his nose in slight annoyance. He took a few seconds to steady himself before continuing, "Don't worry about it."

They finally approached the staircase. Something they rarely ever found in previous loops, a long dark steep incline, ending in a black door. Kyle started up the steps with just a little bit of difficulty.

Stan wasn't sure what was going on. He felt... sick, maybe, but forced himself to continue following Kyle. "Kyle...? Do you... feel weird too?" Stan asked, after a while. It was an odd mix of feeling dizzy and feeling nauseous, but he knew he didn't like it.

"Yeah," Kyle breathed out, very tempted to sit down on the steps, "Dude, I feel awful....."

"I think I'm gonna-" Stan cut himself off, looking a little green. He took a few breaths before he said, "I... I don't think we should stop, though.."

Kyle shook his head, "Yeah no. Me either." Kyle took a few seconds to look down and catch his breath before making a full last hopeful jog towards the door, throwing it open- and staring dumbfounded at the scene before them. 

"What....the fuck?"

In front of Kyle, lay Stan, surrounded by a host of paramedics and not far was Kyle, sporting the same nose bleed along with a nasty cut along his forehead. His arm had been put into a sling. 

The Kyle on the floor let out a weak, 'Stan?' and suddenly the Kyle beside Stan, the one who had been with him presumably through all the loops- suddenly vanished. The woman from the previous loops made her way up the stairs with ease.

"I told you not to go to the fourth floor," She said calmly.

Stan’s blood ran cold at the sight in front of him and it was even worse when the Kyle before them spoke, and the one standing beside him vanished. He jumped when the woman came up the stairs, turning around, clearly alarmed. "What the fuck is going on here?" 

He was fucking terrified for his best friend's well-being, unable to stop himself from also asking, "What happened to Kyle?!"

"You don't remember?," The reaper asked as she walked around the scene nonchalantly, "You two got into a car accident. Would you figure? With the only other car on the road. You weren't in such good shape, so your little friend was able to get the two of you here and call for help, but...."

"Stan..?," Kyle asked again, opening his eyes just a little, throat dry as he made an attempt to reach out for his super best friend.

"You've been out for almost half an hour now," The reaper said, "You're just barely hanging in there.....but now you have a decision. You're lucky, Stanley, not everyone gets to make a decision." She looked over as the paramedics ripped open Stan's shirt to use the defibulators. "Oh, those are always fun."

Stan glanced back at Kyle, eyes wide with worry. "A car accident? Which one of us was driving? How?" He didn't remember any of it. "What's my decision? Is he going to be okay?"

"Your friend was," The reaper said simply, "Oh, he's fine now. He got away from me. Your choice. I've heard your calls before, Stanley. Or....your calls for my boss at least. It's up to you if you want to stay or pass on." She stopped in front of him, "Do not make this decision hastily."

Stan didn't mind not getting an answer as to how it happened. He suddenly really didn't want to know. He visibly paused at the question, "Wh... what? I..." His eyes drifted over to Kyle again, wondering what'll happen if.. if he decided he wanted to pass on. "..." Would that really be fair to Kyle? His family? What would they say? Kyle would... surely blame himself. Stan thought so, at least. There was a long moment where he didn't know what to say, so he stayed quiet. 

What would happen to Kyle if he decided to pass on? Stan didn't want to hurt him like this… He didn’t know if he could make this choice… 

Stan let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding before ultimately deciding, "I want to stay with him. I... I don't want to hurt him... by leaving. He'll... he'll never forgive himself."

"Are you sure?," The reaper asked, "You only get one choice, Stan. The next time may not be for ten....twenty.....fifty years. You've suffered a very long time. Are you sure you want to go back to that?"

One shock.

Kyle sat up way too quickly, "Stan!" Other paramedics were immediately trying to get Kyle to lay down and all but block Stan from his view.

Stan nodded, voice taking on a tone of finality. "Yes. I'm sure. I want to stay." There was a pause, and then he said, "Please." While the idea of not having to deal with his terrible thoughts anymore sounded very appealing, he couldn't get himself to just willingly leave Kyle. Not like this. Not now.

"Hm," She let out, "I'd say surprising, but...." Her eyes trailed to Kyle. "Not that surprising."

The woman disappeared and as the second shock hit, everything finally came back to its correct place. The room seemed much less dusty, though still decrepit. 

"Stan!," Kyle let out again desperately, blinking a little. He couldn't pass out. Not right now. Later. Only when he knew Stan was alright.

By the time paramedics got there, Stan hadn’t been breathing for more than a few minutes — two, at the most. His heart had stopped. If it had been any longer, he would've been legally dead. Somewhat inexplicably, the paramedics continued to work on him, trying to revive him with shocks from the defibrillator. Then, after a little time of working on helping him, Stan finally took a shallow breath and his heart fluttered back into action. His pulse returned, though it was weak.

He could hear voices now, but the one that stuck out was Kyle's calling for him. Stan didn't have it in him to answer, but he did hear one of the paramedics tell the others that he was breathing again, and that his pulse was there. He was really out of it, however, and everything else was muddled for him.

At the confirmation that Stan was alive, Kyle teared up in relief. "God......thank you."

Despite the paramedics insistence for Kyle to lay back down, he pushed his way closer to Stan, grabbing his hand and letting out 'I'm so sorry's' on repeat......and then "I love you." Because he hadn't said it enough. He had learned that lesson in the most extreme way possible, so he said it again, "I love you, Stan, I love you and I'm so so sorry."

Stan mumbled something incoherent in response, not yet opening his eyes. It was hard to find the strength to just yet, he had been kind of dead for a few minutes after all. He squeezed Kyle's hand weakly, but it was enough for him to feel it. If he could speak, it'd just be a chorus of, I love you too's, and it's okay's. Paramedics rushed to move the two apart, but that ultimately only distressed Stan, and they were stuck having to let the SBFs stay together.... They would need to talk, about everything that had happened, about themselves... But only when Stan was fully awake and not as close to losing consciousness as he was right in that moment.

'Tomorrow,' Stan thought, grip tightening on Kyle's hand as he regained his strength, 'They would get a tomorrow.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so very much for reading this! We both hope you enjoyed reading it as much as we did RPing it! Make sure to leave any feedback you have for us in the comments, we'd love to see what you thought about it :)

**Author's Note:**

> Leave any feedback in the comments! Anything is welcome, we'd love to see what you thought about this chapter! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!


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